Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl was born May 10th, 1890, as Alfred Baumgärtler, son of the Bavarian Hauptmann der Artillerie Johannes Jodl and Therese Baumgärtler. His parents were not married, partly because Johannes Jodl’s family considered a farmer’s daughter not good enough for someone from a military familiy. Yet they married in 1899 after Johannes Jodl had left the army. He was the brother of Ferdinand Jodl.
Alfred Jodl married Irma Gräfin von Bullion in September 1913. Irma passed away on April 18th, 1944 in Königsberg. Jodl remarried Luisa Katharina von Benda on March 7th, 1945.
Jodl was among the 24 prime defendants during the Nuremburg Tribunal. October 1st, 1946, he was found guilty on all four counts of the indictment. Jodl was sentenced to death by hanging. Right after the verdict, doubts and disagreements rose among the Allies as to the legality of the verdict. Objections were rejected nonetheless. The death sentence was carried out in Nuremburg on Octobver 16th, 1946. His body was cremated and the ashes were strewn in the river Isar.
In the years following, Luisa von Benda fought for rehabilitation of her husband. In Munich she succeeded in getting a court sentence in which the original verdict was amended on two counts. Had Jodl still been alive, he would not have been sentenced to death on basis of this sentence. The verdict was declared legal on March 2nd, 1953. The American Occupation Authorities did not accept the verdict and it was subsequently reserved. The American authorities and Luisa von Benda ultimately reached an agreement, releasing Jodl’s inheritance and enabling his widow to claim her next of kin pension without the verdict of the Nuremburg Tribunal being revoked. Subsequently, on September 3rd, 1953, the Bavarian Department of Justice revoked the earlier verdict of March 2nd.
Alfred Jodl’s name was engraved on the Jodl family tombstone on Fraueninsel (Chiemsee).
Promotions:
July 1910: Fähnrich;
October 28th, 1912: Leutnant;
1916: Oberleutnant;
July 1921: Rittmeister;
1923: Hauptmann;
February 1st, 1932: Major;
August 1st, 1935: Oberst;
April 1st, 1939: Generalmajor;
July 19th, 1940: General der Artillerie;
January 30th, 1944: Generaloberst.
Career:
1895: Volksschule, Landau;
1899: Volksschule, München;
?: Theresien-Gymnasium, München;
1903 - 1910: Royal Bavarian Cadetcorps, Munich;
July 1910: 4. Bavarian Fieldartilleryregiment, Augsburg;
1911 - 1912: Bavarian Warschool, Munich;
?: 4. Bavarian Fieldartilleryregiment, Augsburg;
1917: Batteriekommandant, 72. k. ungarischen Feldkanonen-Regiment;
1918: Generalstabsoffizier;
June 1919: Batterieführer, leichten Artillerie-Regiment 22;
October 1st, 1919: Reichswehrartillerie-Regiment 21, Landsberg am Lech;
?: Führergehilfenlehrgang I, München;
?: Batteriechef, Artillerie-Regiment 21;
October 1st, 1923: Führergehilfenlehrgang II, Berlin;
May 1924: Reichswehrministerium, Berlin;
October 1924: Stabsoffizier, 7. Division, München;
October 1st, 1927: Chef, 5. Batterie, Artillerieregiment 7;
1928 - 1932: Tutor Tactic and Warhistory;
June 1st, 1932: Gruppenleiter, Operationsabteilung, Truppenamt, Reichswehrministerium;
June 20th, 1935: Chef, Abteilung Landesverteidigung, Wehrmachtführungsamt (WFA);
1938: Chef Wehrmachtführungsamt (WFA), Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW);
October 1st, 1938: Artilleriekommandeur 44. Infanterie-Division;
August 23rd, 1939: Chef des Wehrmachtführungsamtes;
May 13th, 1945: Acting Chief OKW;
May 232rd, 1945: Arrested by British troops;
?: PoW camp 32 (Camp Ashcan), Bad Mondorf;
Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!